


Morning Routine

by owlcakes



Category: A Hat in Time (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, basically this is just one big internal monologue, but they dont appear, grooves and hk are mentioned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-28
Updated: 2020-08-28
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:54:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,174
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26149777
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/owlcakes/pseuds/owlcakes
Summary: The Conductor gets ready for the day and also reflects on the past
Relationships: DJ Grooves & Hat Kid (A Hat in Time), The Conductor & DJ Grooves & Hat Kid (A Hat in Time), The Conductor & DJ Grooves (A Hat in Time), The Conductor & Hat Kid (A Hat in Time)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 37





	Morning Routine

**Author's Note:**

> uhhh it might be boring but whatever I wanted to write the conductor lol

He was up a minute before his alarm was set to go off. This happened sometimes, especially when he had important things to get done the next day and he would spend the entire day prior worrying about it. Then his body would wake him up early the next day, as if his body wanted to get his day started already when _he_ didn’t want it to. It was like a bad joke. So there he lay, in his bed, on his back. His ears preparing for the oncoming assault of noise that _would_ have roused him from sleep had he not already been awake. 

A piercing ring cut through the air for no more than a second before the Conductor slammed his hand on the clock, instantly silencing it. 

He let out a groan as he sat up, his bones aching and cracking. He really needed a new mattress, but that would mean he was getting old and he, even now, had a hard time accepting that. Swinging his feet on the floor, the old owl gave out a huff as he stood and twisted his back, creating another crack somewhere in his spine. He let out a sigh of relief as he was finally able to gain control of his body again, no longer stiff from the hours of sleep. 

Making his way towards the bathroom, the Conductor rubbed at his face trying to wake himself up more. As he entered, he faced the mirror, observing himself. His feathers were very disheveled from sleep and, though he had no distinguishable facial features, he knew he looked tired. His back head feathers drooped and his shoulders sagged, not to mention he moved ever so slow in the mornings. Just another thing that came with age, he guessed. 

After splashing some water on his face, the Conductor was back in his room, rifling through his clothes. He found his mind begin to wander as he put on his undershirt and hunted for his black slacks. Mainly toward the hatted lass that had visited their planet not too long ago. She was gone now, had been for almost two years now, and the Conductor still found himself missing her. Sometimes he would think it was utterly ridiculous how he could miss her so much despite only knowing her for such a short time, but that was all talk. Every so often he would find himself rewatching the movies she starred in and every time he felt a pang of nostalgia and sadness. He put her through so much back then, him _and_ Grooves. 

He felt his feathers ruffle in agitation. That peck neck had the gall to attack her over a pecking time piece! Sure, the Conductor made her run for her life through a train set to explode, but he would never attack her over something so trivial as those...thingamajigs. During the fight, Grooves went on about how the time pieces can rewind time and how he was sure that the Conductor cheated his way to win the awards. So he wanted to use the timepiece to make sure that never happened and that the trophies could go to the rightful winner, Grooves. 

The Conductor let out a quiet “Hah” at that, as if he would stoop so low as to cheat his way to victory. He only _wins_ because his movies are _better_ than DJ Peck Necks! 

The owl grabbed his tie and stood in front of the mirror as he began to tie it around his neck.

It was surprising to see Grooves in that sort of light. The Conductor never depicted him as the revenge type. The penguin had always seemed so positive about everything, no matter how many times he lost, he always had that drive to continue on. It was something the Conductor begrudgingly admired. Despite his terrible sense in fashion taste and movies, DJ Grooves had drive and passion. But, he guessed, that even the most positive people have their breaking point. Grooves just so happened to have his snapping episode directed at the lass.

He slid on his coat, buttoning it up as he continued his train of thought. 

For some odd reason, the Conductor couldn’t help but feel a little guilty about the whole thing. He felt he was the reason why Grooves snapped and it wasn’t fair that the hatted lass took the brunt of it all. Maybe if he wasn’t so condescending, or downright insulting, towards Grooves, then maybe his years of pent up anger wouldn't have exploded and he wouldn’t have attacked the poor kid. 

The only thing that was missing from his outfit was his signature hat. Glancing around the room, he quickly realized that it was nowhere in sight. He scratched his head in thought, trying to remember where he had left it. He had gotten back so tired from a day filled with shooting, dealing with budget cuts, and arguing with executives about every small detail that could be deemed lawsuit worthy, that it was very possible he could have tossed it aside anywhere in his house on his way to bed. His room was a tad messy, clothes from throughout the weeks lay wherever the owl tossed them, he needed to clean it and do some laundry. But later, he had to find his hat. He looked under his bed, overturned the covers, and rifled through his closet, but no sign of his hat. 

He made his way out of his room and down the hallway, passing by family photos hanging on the wall. He gave them the slightest of glances as he walked. 

Entering the kitchen, he scoured every inch of the floor and countertops. He even took a peek at the sink filled with dirty dishes, another thing he needed to get done. Later though. The Conductor went to the living room, checking under his couch, under the coffee table, between the cracks of the cushions, and even behind it. Still nothing. He checked his watch, it was getting late and he hadn’t had breakfast yet. But he couldn’t go out without his hat! 

He decided to check his room one more time. If he couldn’t find it then...well he might just have to go to work without it. His mouth pressed in a tight line.

His mind wandered back to Grooves again, thinking back to the aftermath of the entire debacle. It had been about a week before the hatted lass showed up at the studios again. She looked nervous at first, but relaxed at the sight of the old owl. He had awkwardly joked with her about his movies and the owls, trying to ease her worries. He didn’t know the reason for her visit, but was happy to see her all the same. Her, somewhat, happy mood was short lived as the doors from Grooves’ side of the studio opened and out walked the penguin that caused it all. 

The air was as tense and awkward as ever. Things had been somewhat off between the owl and penguin, but the Conductor can only imagine what the kid felt like. Grooves had been a lot nicer to her than the owl, he hated to admit, so his sudden betrayal was probably more of a stab in the back than that owl was on his train. 

Grooves mustered whatever courage he had and apologized. He tried giving excuses, saying it was the pressures of the movie industry or how it was the fact that he lost so many times. But he stopped himself, realizing that there really was no excuse. Taking off his signature glasses, he started over. He wasn’t expecting forgiveness, but only just wanted to apologize. 

The Conductor entered his room one last time, hands on his hips as he surveyed the room. He tapped his foot as he thought. 

It was surprising to see the lass forgive him. A simple head nod and smile was all she did to accept his apology. Grooves, of course, couldn’t have been more elated. He was extra annoying that day, even when the lass left. His terrible music played so loud that the Conductor could barely get any shooting done that day. 

The owl checked under his bed again. Nothing. He checked under the covers. Nothing. He glanced over his pillows, untouched since the moment he left the bed. With a sense of suspicion mixed with anticipation, the Conductor over tuned his pillow and sighed with a smile. There his hat lay, a little smushed but nonetheless undamaged. He fitted it on his head as he inspected himself in the mirror. Yes, this looked right.

He didn’t have time to cook himself a full breakfast, toast and butter would have to do for now.

As he waited for his toast, he thought about what would have happened had _he_ been the one to turn on the lass instead of Grooves. Sure there was the 42nd Bird Movie award, the one and only time he lost to Grooves, but was that loss enough of a reason to take a timepiece for himself and turn on a kid? His initial reaction would be to say, “No,” but he knows that that wasn’t true. If working in the movie industry has taught him anything, it's that nothing’s impossible. 

His thoughts were interrupted as the toast popped. Quickly smearing it with butter, he wasted no time in walking out the door as his beak bit down, the crunching of the slightly burnt bread filling his ears. 

A million things raced through his mind as he left his house: he still had to meet with those lawyers, he also needed to rearrange a scene because he still didn’t like how it turned out, and he needed to find someone willing to do the stunts he had in mind. If only the hatted lass was still around, she would have no problem in doing the tricks he wanted. All these actors wanting contracts and forms guaranteeing their safety, whatever happened to the good old days where people did stunts with no inhibitions and directors didn’t have to deal with things like legality? 

Well, he supposed there was nothing he could really do about it. Things change. Speaking of things changing, his rivalry with Grooves had finally started to get back to normal earlier this year. After the...events with the kid, their usual back-and-forth was basically non-existent for the better half of that year. They would pass each other in the lobby with no more than glances before locking themselves in their respective areas to bury themselves in their work. The Conductor would take extra precautions so as to not run into the penguin during the day, sometimes even staying way later than he should just so he was sure that he wouldn’t run into him. Was he being a little too dramatic about it? Sure. Could he have just walked up to Grooves and talked with him? Obviously. But the Conductor always had a hard time talking about himself in that way. He had no problem boasting about himself or his movies, but when it came to his feelings, he had a harder time than most explaining himself. He wouldn’t even know where to start? How do you go back to normal after all of that? Were they supposed to forget it ever happened or talk it out? And how could you even ‘talk it out’? So sure, avoiding the elephant in the room was probably the least strategic way they could go about it, but it worked. 

Thankfully, the months of tiptoeing around the subject and avoiding each other were almost behind them. There was still that air of awkwardness between them, but nothing like before. It started when they both ran into each other at the lobby, those darn Express Owls didn’t warn him about Grooves and they both exited their respective studio rooms at the same pecking time. It was a few seconds of the two birds staring at each other before the Conductor cleared his throat and tried to bring back that banter he didn’t know he missed. He said something along the lines of Grooves’ jacket being tacky. He spotted the slightest of smirks from the penguin, who retaliated in kind by telling the Conductor that the only thing tacky was his taste in movie genres. 

It wasn’t long after that exchange, that the two birds fell back into their usual arguments and taunts. 

The Conductor finally arrived at Dead Bird Studios, the sun was just above the horizon and the cool air hadn’t yet been heated by the sun. Mornings like this were his favorite. What he wouldn’t give than to quit work for the day and spend his freedom riding his train. Now _that_ sounded like a good day to him. 

However, he was a director first and those award winning movies weren’t going to make themselves. So he took a nice deep breath of the morning air and walked into his studio. 


End file.
